Sting's Going Small Plays Big at Memorable Pageant Concert

Sting's Going Small Plays Big at Memorable Pageant Concert

Article excerpt

Sting wasted no time getting to know his sold-out audience at the
Pageant on Friday night during a stop on his up close and personal
"57th & 9th Tour" stop, initially gracing the stage before opening
acts the Last Bandoleros and Joe Sumner.

At the top of the evening, Sting walked onto the stage with a few
words and a song.

"I'm glad to be here. It's my first time here. It's nice to be in
this environment," he said of the Pageant.

He reminded the crowd of what he said was his first-ever visit to
St. Louis, a 1979 concert at Mississippi Nights with the Police,
which was met with cheers. Then came "Heading South on the Great
North Road," a cut from the new "57th & 9th" album.

"All right, let's get this show started," Sting said by way of
introducing his son, the aforementioned Sumner, for a brief set
followed by another brief set by the Last Bandoleros.

It was a night, as Sumner said, when everyone was in everyone
else's band, including Sting standing in on tambourine and vocals on
the Last Bandoleros' "Where Do You Go?" and Sumner joining them as
well.

If there was a star of the night, it wasn't just Sting. Making
the concert one to remember and it will be remembered was its
locale.

Fans got to see superstar Sting in a setting as intimate (for
him) as the Pageant, certainly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
mirroring what he's doing around the country. Taking the show down
this way with Sting playing well below his draw made it an even
bigger event than it might have been.

"I can see you. You can see me," said Sting, who is used to
performing in arenas and amphitheaters.

Accompanied by guitarists Dominic Miller and Rufus Miller and
drummer Josh Freese, Sumner and the Last Bandoleros, Sting offered a
strong mix of songs from his Police repertoire, his solo material
and selections from his new album, which for him marks a return to
making rock albums.

He opened with "Synchronicity II" and "Spirits in the Material
World," easy hooks when it comes to reeling in an audience, as it
did here. …

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